Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Carolyn Cauthen, president of Birmingham's Inglenook Neighborhood Association, and David VanWilliams, Inglenook Neighborhood Association Secretary (holding award check), partnered to create the Community Carpentry Project, which was awarded $25,000 in this year's Community Health Innovation Awards. VanWilliams is also Master Carpenter for their project, which aims to teach carpentry skills to individuals in a drug rehabilitation program. Photo and description courtesy of CCTS website.

In order to apply for this grant, neighborhood leaders had to identify a prominent need in the community and an innovative method to address it. As in many underserved communities, crime is a deterrent to positive growth and the Inglenook Neighborhood Association sought a solution that will ultimately reduce the crime rate while enhancing the aesthetics of the community. Resultantly, Carolyn Cauthen, Inglenook Neighborhood Association President, and David VanWilliams, Inglenook Neighborhood Association Secretary, founded a carpentry program, which is called Community Carpentry Project. (CCP), to provide opportunities to the at-risk/disadvantaged youth of the Birmingham area. In the six month program, students will be introduced to the fundamentals of carpentry and graduate to become a “Carpenter’s Helper,” or pursue an Apprenticeship Program to further education. Additionally, students will gain practical experience by working on dilapidated houses in the Inglenook Community.

The Inglenook Neighborhood Association is making a great impact in the Inglenook Community and has supported all of the endeavors of the Inglenook Library and other entities of the community. Make a difference where you are by checking out the books below for further reading.